June 23, 2011

I was a little underwhelmed by the Pottermore announcement - until I saw this image! Looks incredible. From what Rowling said, it seemed to me this would just be something along the lines of an RP/Fanfiction site, the only difference with those already found on the internet being bonus features - Rowling's own additions. But look! House points! If this is something closer to a great Hogwarts themed RPG, then I'm super excited!

Let's hope this leaked image is the real deal, and not someone's clever ploy ;)

June 17, 2011

The countdown is on to a big Rowling announcement in 5 days time! This sounds really exciting, like something I've been waiting for for the past 4 years since The Deathly Hallows came out, but let's not get our hopes up that there will be a Harry Potter 8. Speculation is that it could just be a Harry Potter themed Android phone (lame). On the other hand, if there are to be further Harry Potter books, is this really a good thing? Can Rowling keep up the quality of the previous 7 books?

I know I'll be the super optimist, don't get me wrong. Just hope I'm not let down! I hope there's more Harry Potter books to come, and I hope they'll be amazing!

At first I thought it would be best to wait to hear what the news is before starting the debate, but I'm curious - what do you think the announcement could be, how likely do you think it is that we're talking more HP books, and do you think this would be a good thing? Let me know what you think!

June 1, 2011

"Why was there nothing it refused? No misery, no regret, no hateful picture too rotten to accept? Like a greedy child it snatched up everything. Just once, could it say, No thank you? I just ate and can't hold another bite?"

This is not a story to pass on. At least, that's the refrain of this dark tale of life after slavery. It really is a story that should be passed on, because it seems as though we've forgotten the horrifying brutality of slavery in America. If the novel ends by saying that this is not a story to pass on, it begins by dedicating itself to the "sixty million and more" black slaves brought across from Africa, a few million of whom died on the journey across. Many stories of freedom focus on the stiff upper lips, the singing in the fields, the heads held high against all adversity, despite every misfortune thrown against them, and the awaiting of a brighter future.